PTA tells telcos to enforce uniform SIM policy

PTA tells telcos to enforce uniform SIM policy.

Key points

• The Newspaper's Staff Reporter Published August 30, 2026 Updated August 30, 2026 09: 08am.
• According to The PTA has, around 97 per cent of subscribers in Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan are prepaid users.
• A senior Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) official remarked consumers had lodged complaints against Zong and Telenor Pakistan.
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• The official continued that Jazz has a recycling policy under which any SIM that remains dormant for up to 720 days is recycled.

For context, the Newspaper's Staff Reporter Published August 30, 2026 Updated August 30, 2026 09: 08am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

After finding that two telcos were not complying with the prescribed terms and conditions, ISLAMABAD: The telecom sector regulator has directed all three telcos to implement a uniform policy on SIM expiry and recharge amounts.

For context, a senior Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) official remarked consumers had lodged complaints against Zong and Telenor Pakistan. It has now been acquired by PTCL. The complainants had demanded that prepaid balance should remain valid for the entire active life of the SIM.

"The complaints were that these two firms demanded that consumers maintain a certain amount of balance even during the active period of the SIMs, failing which the SIMs were eventually cancelled. The other matter was that they did not carry over the balance amount after the next recharge, " the official went on.

Zong and the merged firm, Ufone/Telenor, did not respond to the query; even so, a Jazz official noted the active base of a SIM is 90 days, with 180 days as a quarantine period. Orders firms to implement 180-day minimum balance validity policy.

"After that, the recycling of the SIM is allowed – that means the ownership of the SIM can be changed, " the official continued.

Notably, the official continued that Jazz has a recycling policy under which any SIM that remains dormant for up to 720 days is recycled.

"But after this period, a dormant SIM is allowed to be totally recycled, and the previous owner can no longer claim any rights over the recycled SIM, " the official continued.

Meanwhile, the determination issued by the PTA directed all telcos to implement a minimum validity period of 180 days for any recharge/balance amount.

As per the Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations, the PTA has remarked any expired balance will automatically be reinstated and become usable upon a subsequent recharge during the active life of the SIM.

Telecom firms will not engage in any unfair commercial practices when implementing this decision. It will take effect on Oct 1.

For context, the PTA had received multiple complaints from subscribers regarding the forfeiture of unused prepaid balances upon expiry of validity periods.

According to The complainants had, such deduction and non-adjustment of the balance to subsequent recharges required intervention by the regulator.

In practice, the complaint lodged with the PTA was that the non-adjustment of the remaining balance significantly impacts the average subscriber financially, particularly low-income subscribers.

According to The PTA has, around 97 per cent of subscribers in Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan are prepaid users. Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2026.

Taken together, the developments around PTA tells telcos to enforce uniform SIM policy point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.